International Eyes on Tasmanian Smoking Bill

Source from:  AAP 10/30/2014

A Tasmanian politician's plan to create a smoke-free generation could set an international precedent, a United States expert in public health policy says.

Launceston-based independent MP Ivan Dean plans to introduce a private member's bill to Tasmania's upper house in November which restricts the sale of tobacco products to people born in or after the year 2000.

"It will not make it illegal for them to smoke, but it will make it illegal for them to buy the product," Mr Dean told AAP.

"If we have a bill that's to say they can never smoke, it would be unlikely to get support."

Mr Dean is working on the basis that if it's difficult to source cigarettes, it is less likely people will smoke.

Due to be tabled in parliament on November 18, the bill is still a work in progress, including whether all eligible purchasers will have to show proof of age in the form of a drivers licence or identification card.

"So far I've only had positive feedback about the bill and even the (state) health minister has indicated he will look at the detail," Mr Dean said.

And support is coming from far and wide, with professor of law in public health at Boston's Northeastern University, Dick Daynard, throwing his weight behind the proposed legislation.

"There is a good deal of interest in it, both in small towns and in large cities, but it has yet to be introduced in any," Professor Daynard said.

"While the US doesn't normally look to Tasmania for policy direction, if Tasmania did adopt (the bill) it would be a big boost for efforts in the US and elsewhere."

The bill is more politically palatable, and an easier alternative than outlawing tobacco across the board, especially for those who may be addicted to nicotine, Professor Daynard said.

Mr Dean, a former policeman who has never smoked, said his fight against tobacco stems from watching his father die after years of suffering lung cancer.

"It was agonising to see him pleading for life and regretting what he had done, even though he gave up smoking as soon as he was diagnosed," Mr Dean said.

The amendment to Tasmania's Health Act is expected to be debated into 2015 with a view to introduction in 2018. Enditem